I don't look the way the average cowboy singer looksI'll admit I've taken things I never should'a tookYou can read a different story in a lot of different booksBut even then you won't really knowHow it was a long time ago

Women have been my trouble since I found out they weren't menIn spite of that I stopped and took a wife now and thenThey built their fences high but they couldn't hold me inI was born with a fire down belowAnd I learned to fly a long time ago

Don't ask me about the years I spent out in the rainAbout the ones I spent in love or the ones I spent insaneDon't ask me who I gave my seat to on that planeI think you already knowI told you that a long time ago

Me and ol' Willie Lordy we've been sold and boughtI guess y'all heard about some kind of system that we foughtWe ain't the only outlaws just the only ones they caughtThey tried to run us off but Willie's slowI quit running a long time ago